Salute
by SWWoman
Summary: During a murder investigation, Carter finds a witness who knew Reese when he was an Army Ranger. Note: while Reese and Carter are in a committed relationship in this story, their relationship is not the focus of this particular story.
1. Chapter 1

**I had hoped to have this ready for Memorial Day but didn't quite make it. So I figured the 4th of July would be a good substitute. :) Chapter 2 will be posted tomorrow.**

**As usual, if you recognize it from the show, I don't own it.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Detectives Joss Carter and Lionel Fusco stood across from each other looking down at the body at their feet. In perfect synchronization, they looked up at each other and then turned their heads to view the apartment buildings that surrounded the playground where they stood.

Fusco sighed, "Wanna bet everyone saw the shooting but no one saw nuthin'?"

Carter frowned, "Fusco, in this neighborhood, it's par for the course."

Lionel grunted his agreement and stepped back so the ME could finish examining the body.

"You got preliminary time of death for us, CeCe?" he asked the woman.

"From the liver temp, I'll say time of death was four to five hours ago," CeCe replied as she tossed a braid over her shoulder. "Looks like he took five slugs to the chest, fired from fairly close range but not in contact."

"Could be a drug deal gone bad or an argument between friends or any one of a dozen scenarios," Lionel said grumpily.

Joss sighed, "We better get to it then." She turned to the uniform who had called in the body, "This is your beat; you recognize him?"

The uniform nodded, "Yeah, street name's Little Loco. Real name is Lyle something. He was just starting an exciting career as a money runner for one of the local dope dealers. He's got a long record of petty crimes. I've run him in several times myself."

"Real solid citizen there, can't imagine why he wound up in a bag," Fusco sniffed as he watched the ME zip up the body bag. He turned to his partner, "You ready to go bang on some doors?"

Carter nodded, "Let's get it over with." Quickly she assigned the various uniforms to each building that had a view of the playground, leaving the building closest to the crime scene for her and Fusco. Then she and her partner trudged over to the building to begin the tedious process of going to door to door looking for witnesses.

Fusco and Carter entered the building lobby. It was a two story building that, like every other building in the neighborhood, had seen better days... about thirty years ago. The paint was chipped, the linoleum was cracked and the hallways were covered in graffiti. Both of them knew the odds of finding someone who saw the crime and would be willing to talk to the police were slim, but they had to try. You never knew when you might get lucky.

Fusco headed for the stairs, "I'll take the top floor." And he vanished up the steps.

Carter started knocking on doors. No one appeared to be home in the first couple of apartments, no one answered the door at her knock and she heard no sounds coming from inside.

The third door was answered by a Hispanic man who looked to be in his sixties in a wheelchair because he was missing most of his left leg. To Carter's surprise, he seemed delighted to see her.

"It's not every day a pretty girl comes knocking! Come on in!" he smiled cheerfully.

"Um, NYPD, sir. I'm here about the shooting on the playground," Carter was completely caught off guard by the man's cheerful greeting. She showed him her badge but the man barely glanced at it.

"Aw, shucks, I was hoping I was getting a date! But you can come in anyway," the man's cheerful demeanor was not the least bit diminished by Carter's badge. He opened the door wide and Carter stepped in the small studio apartment that held a bed, a small kitchenette along one wall, a TV and a dinette set with a table and two chairs.

Carter held out her hand to the man, "I'm Detective Carter."

"Alejandro Padilla, Call me Paddy," the man's handshake was feeble and Joss could tell he was quite sick. Her suspicions were confirmed when he let loose with a terrible hacking cough. He burst into laughter and another bout of coughing when he saw the look of concern on Carter's face.

"Don't worry, worse than it sounds," he finally managed to rasp out with a very dry laugh. "Just kiddin', I'll be fine."

Carter sincerely doubted that was case, but decided not to press the point. Arguing might set off another round of coughing and she didn't want to watch Paddy lose a lung right here in front of her.

"Well I hope you feel better soon," Carter said, though she had a feeling that he was probably terminal. Even if he wasn't, access to health care in this poor, run-down area was sketchy at best; there was only one small free clinic within a twenty block radius.

"Thanks, ma'am. Now I suppose you are here about the shooting last night?" Paddy asked politely.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Carter decided to sit in one of the chairs from the small dinette so she would be in on the same level as Paddy in his wheelchair.

"I didn't see much. I heard the shots and looked out the window but the punk was already down and the shooter was running away."

"Did you get good look at him?"

"Not great. I can tell you that it was a white guy, around five ten or eleven, medium build, blonde with blue jeans and a brown leather jacket. Some of the local boys had a problem with some Russians the other day, so I'm assuming it was one of them."

"Problem with the Russians? Can you tell me more about that?"

"I don't know too much, except that I saw a couple of Russian dudes screaming at some of the local punks the other day. I don't speak Russian, but the few English words I heard sounded like they felt cheated on some deal."

"Can you identify the guys in the argument?"

"I got a good enough look at them to pick them out of a line up if that's what you mean."

Carter smiled; they might actually crack this case after all; she had expected it to wind up in the cold case files. "Yeah that's exactly what I mean. Would you mind looking at some mug shots down at the precinct?"

Paddy laughed which set off another round of coughing, "Do I look I have anything better to do?"

"Paddy, when was the last time you saw a doctor?" Carter was quite concerned about this man.

"I was at the VA just the other day. Nothing they can do for me, honey. I'm dying."

"You're a veteran?"

Paddy sat up straight in his chair, "I was an Army Ranger. Did three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Last tour is where I lost my leg. IED."

Carter nodded, "I did a couple of tours myself."

"You were in the Army?"

"I was an Interrogator."

"No kidding? You know any Rangers?"

Carter hesitated, for a second, thinking of John Reese. "Yeah, a few."

Paddy grabbed a photo album and opened it to a picture of Ranger unit, "These were my boys! That's where I got the nickname Paddy. O'Hara here," he tapped his finger on a corporal, "Decided that I drank like an Irishman, so he named me Paddy and the name stuck."

Carter looked the photo over then idly began turning pages while Paddy kept up a running commentary on who was who in all the photos and where they were taken. Then she turned another page and froze.

Staring back at her from the past was John. He was walking, his body partially turned towards the camera with his head turned so he was looking directly into the camera. He had been caught mid-stride with his helmet in one hand and his rifle in the other. He was smiling, a real, wide genuine smile, not his usual smirk. His hair was coal black without a trace of the silver that was now on his temples and scattered through his hair. His eyes didn't hold that haunted look that Joss saw so often, this John wasn't sad, or grim or hard. This John hadn't been damaged by years of Black Ops and CIA service. This John was happy and whole.

With a stab of regret, she realized that she would never know this John.

Paddy noticed her reaction to the picture and to Joss's relief, misinterpreted it. "Oh you like Sergeant Davis? All the girls did."

Joss managed to smile. "He was a real ladies man?" she asked shyly.

"Naw, Sarge was always surprised the girls liked him, but they all did. They'd get a look at those eyes of his and that's it, they wouldn't even look at the rest of us."

Joss smiled, "He's a good looking man. I can see why he got the girls." _He owns this girl_, she thought.

"Sarge took care of us all. He took this wet behind the ears recruit and saved my bacon more than once. He was a good man."

_Still is_, Joss thought to herself, reaching out to run her fingers wistfully over the photograph. She wished she could have known this John.

Then something Paddy said hit her. "Wait, if you were a young recruit when the war started…" her voice trailed off unsure how to say it.

Paddy finished the job for her, "I must be younger than I look. Yes, ma'am, this is the result of some hard living and some poor health. I'm thirty six years old."

Carter barely managed to keep from staring. "Oh," was all she managed to say.

Paddy shrugged, "It's my own damn fault. Once I lost my leg, I got hooked on painkillers washed down with a couple of bottles of vodka a day. Tried every drug out there, some more than once, whatever I could get my hands, mostly. My family got tired of dealing with me and didn't want me around, so I was homeless up 'til last year."

"Why didn't you go to the VA?"

"Too proud and too mad. I didn't want to stop drinkin' and usin'."

"So what changed your mind?"

"I finally just decided that I wanted to stop. But by then it was too late." Another hacking cough tore through Paddy's body. "By the time I got to the VA, I had cancer. The doc thought I'd had it for a couple of years and it'd had plenty of time to spread. I probably got more cancer cells in my body than I have regular cells at this point."

Carter felt sad for this man; no one deserved this fate, especially a man who had given his limb in the service of his country. "I'm sorry," she said simply.

"I've made my peace with it. Doc thinks I have a few months to live. At least I'm off the streets, got my own little place here. I'm comfortable."

Carter realized that she had spent far too much time with Paddy Padilla, Fusco was probably looking for her by now. She reluctantly closed the photo album and handed it back to Paddy. "It's been lovely meeting you. Will tomorrow be convenient for you to come down to the station and look through our mug shots? I can send a car for you if you'd like."

"Thanks, getting around these days is kinda tough." Paddy took the card Joss offered him. "Thanks for taking the time to talk with a stranger. I don't get many visitors."

Carter took her leave of Paddy and walked back to the playground here Fusco was impatiently waiting for her. "What took you so long?" he growled.

"I found a witness who saw the vic arguing with some Russian dudes a few days ago."

Fusco looked shocked, "Someone in this neighborhood TALKED? Wow, I guess there is first time for everything."

"Yep, he's former Army Ranger, they don't intimidate easily. He's coming down to station tomorrow to look at mug shots."

Fuscous snorted, "There really is a Santa Claus!"

Carter smiled back, "You have no idea, partner."

* * *

Lunchtime rolled around and Carter told Fusco she had an errand to run. She walked to the park, found a nice sunny bench and dialed her favorite number.

"Hi, sweetheart," the soft sexy voice of John Reese answered. Joss's nipples immediately stood at attention and there was a rush of heat between her legs. She firmly repressed her body's reaction to her lover's voice.

"Do you have a minute?" she asked.

"I have several. I'm watching the most boring woman in the world have lunch with her best friend who seems to be the second most boring woman in the world."

Joss laughed, "Not the most exciting case, eh?"

"I'm so bored I'm hoping Leon gets in trouble again soon."

Joss laughed. "Wow, you_ are_ bored. Well, I had an interesting morning."

"Tell me about it then, I can live vicariously through you."

"I met someone," Joss said in flirty tone of voice

"Am I going to have to kneecap a rival?" John teased back. Joss could hear the smile in his voice.

"He's already missing a leg. He's a veteran."

"Oh? Do you know him?" Joss could tell John was interested now. He had a soft spot for veterans.

"No, but you do. His name is Alejandro Padilla."

There were a few seconds of shocked silence and then John exclaimed, "_Paddy_? You met Paddy?"

"Yep, he's a witness to a murder Fusco and I are working."

"You said he's missing a leg?" John sounded concerned.

Joss immediately stopped flirting and got serious. "He's in a pretty bad way, John. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but he's dying. He had a hard time after he lost his leg and now cancer is getting him."

"Where can I find him?" John's voice was very soft.

Joss gave John the address. "That's a rough part of town," John noted.

"VA bennies don't get you the penthouse suite."

"True."

"He did say he was comfortable," Joss tried to be reassuring.

John was still concerned, "But if he has cancer, he won't be comfortable for long."

"When the time comes, I have people I can call to get him into some good hospice care, John. We can make sure the end is as painless as possible."

"Thank you. Don't expect me tonight; when I'm done here I think I need to pay a visit to an old friend."

"I was hoping you would say that. I think he would love to see you. He spoke quite highly of you, how you took him under your wing and protected him."

John paused, and then said in a choked voice, "He was a good kid."

"He said you were a good man," Joss said softly.

"He hasn't seen me in years, Joss."

"You are still a good man; I will never stop believing that," Joss said fiercely.

When John didn't reply for several minutes, she said, "John?"

"I'm still here," he said in voice that was choked with such emotion she'd rarely heard from him. "I'll see you later."

Joss hung up, smiling.

As she expected, Joss did not hear from John that evening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Last chapter! Thanks for reading my little salute to the troops.**

**Here's hoping all the Irrelevants have a happy and safe 4th of July!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The next day Carter sent a car to pick up Paddy and bring him to the station. As soon he was wheeled into the precinct and saw her, Paddy broke into the large, happy grin she had seen the previous day.

"You fooled me!" he exclaimed. "You're Sarge's girl!"

Carter laughed as she pushed his wheelchair into a room. "I thought I would have John surprise you." (Truthfully she had not mentioned that she knew John because he was pretty reticent about his past and she had not been sure if he would even want to see Paddy.)

"Well it worked. You could knocked me over with feather when he came knocking on my door last night." Paddy had to stop to cough. Carter hastily brought him a cup of water.

"Thanks," the vet said. "Sarge and I talked for long time last night. He said he had a hard time after he left the service too, said he met you when he was homeless like me."

Carter nodded her head. "Yeah, the first time I met him, I could hardly stand to be in the room with him, he was so ripe. But I knew he wasn't just any bum, he was special."

"It was those eyes, wasn't it? It's always those crazy eyes of his."

Joss laughed, Paddy had nailed it dead on. "Yeah, I took one look at those eyes and there was a connection. I couldn't leave him alone after that…"

Paddy laughed and coughed some more, "That's what he said, too. He said he took one look at you and he was following you around like a puppy."

Joss blushed; John had never told her that he had started following her _before_ she became one of his cases! Paddy cackled with delight when he saw her blush.

Carter placed several books of mug shots in front of Paddy, "Ok you flirt, here's the books, look through them and let me know if you see anyone you recognize. I'll check back with you in a few minutes."

As Joss was leaving the room, her phone buzzed with John's number. "Is Paddy there with you now?" he asked as soon as she answered.

"Yep and he told me that you took one look at me and you were following me around," Joss said, laughing. "I never knew that!"

"Paddy has a big mouth, always did," John said, but he seemed quite happy about it.

"That's Ok," Joss told him, "He'll tell you I said I took one look into those eyes of yours and I couldn't leave you alone."

"It's true, you couldn't. You did a get bit stalkerish for a while," John teased her.

"I'm a cop and you were breaking the law, what was_ your_ excuse?" She shot back.

"I wanted to find out more about the woman who was chasing me. And you have a magnificent ass."

Joss had to laugh again. "I'm guessing you didn't call me to tell me you like my butt. What's up?"

"When you're done with Paddy, I would like you to drive him to the address I text you. Finch and I have a surprise for him."

"Sure no problem. How's your case going? Don't tell me the most boring woman in the world is a vicious serial killer?"

"Wrapped that case up yesterday afternoon. No, she was actually running a pyramid scheme dressed up as an Investment Club. One of her ex-friends decided to off her for losing her kid's college fund. Finch and I are between numbers right now so we decided to do something nice for Paddy."

"Sounds good! I don't think he will be long, do you want me to call you when we are on our way?"

"No need. We'll be here waiting."

"See you in a bit."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Joss pulled up in front of the address that John had sent her. Paddy looked around appreciatively, "This is one niiiiiice neighborhood. Does John live here?"

Joss shook her head, "No, he doesn't. I have no idea why he asked me to bring you here."

Joss got Paddy's wheelchair out of the trunk and followed Paddy as he wheeled into the lobby of the building and to the elevators. They rode to the third floor and Joss knocked on the apartment door. John answered with huge smile on his face.

"Welcome home, Paddy," he said.

"I don't live here!' Paddy said, confused, "This is too upscale for me!"

"You do now," John explained as he took the handles of the wheelchair and pushed it into the cozy apartment. "This is Harold Crow, my employer."

Finch stepped forward and shook Paddy's hand. "As John has already told you last night, we are in the personal protection business and as such we have several properties scattered around the city we use as safe houses for our clients. I purchased this place in case I ever needed a safe house for someone who used a wheelchair. John has told me all about you and your service to our country and I would be honored if you would live here."

Paddy and Joss took a tour around the apartment. It had obviously been designed for wheelchair users. The counters were low enough for Paddy to use comfortably; the furniture was laid out in such a way to allow the wheelchair to move easily throughout the apartment. The hallway to the two bedrooms was extra wide to accommodate the wheelchair, as were the doors to the bedroom and the bathroom. The shower in the bathroom was big enough so that Paddy could just wheel his chair right in. The hand held shower head was mounted low on the wall and the toilet had handrails all around it.

It was perfect. Joss could have cried. Paddy did.

Reese had already collected Paddy's few meager belongings from his old apartment and he helped Paddy put them away. While they were busy, Joss moved over to stand next to Finch.

"This is a wonderful thing you are doing, Finch," Joss said softly so that Paddy could not hear.

Finch smiled at her, his blue eyes dancing. "Mr. Reese was quite worried about Mr. Padilla's safety in his old neighborhood, especially since he was going to cooperate with your investigation."

"I would have put him protective custody, but nothing as nice as this," Joss waved her hand to indicate the plush apartment.

"Mr. Padilla is important to Mr. Reese; the least I can do is make his last days as comfortable as possible." Harold paused and looked at Joss, quite somber now. "I checked his records at the VA, he was not exaggerating when he said he only had a few months. His doctors estimate six months or less."

Joss nodded, "All you have to do is listen to him cough."

"He served his country honorably and lost a limb as a consequence, he deserves a comfortable end."

Joss kissed Harold on the cheek, "You're a good man, Harold."

Harold looked at her sadly, "I wish I could share your conviction on that point."

* * *

Time ticked away slowly for Paddy, while the team did everything possible to make sure he was comfortable and content. Harold had nurses visit every day to make sure Paddy had good meals, and took his medications, while the rest of the team did their best to provide him some companionship in his final days.

Over the next few months, Joss and John would visit with Paddy whenever they had the chance. It was hard for John to watch Paddy's long, slow decline, but Joss could not be happier that Paddy had come into their lives. John needed to be reminded of who he had been before the CIA got ahold of him. He needed to be reminded of the John in the picture in Paddy's photo album. Every little reminder that he wasn't irredeemably evil helped. Joss saw a side of John she had hardly seen before. He smiled occasionally, he wasn't as tense all the time, he let his playful side out more. Joss could not be more grateful to Paddy for bringing back a little bit of the John Paddy had known at the start of the war.

* * *

Carter and Fusco were able to make an arrest in the case that first brought Joss into contact with Paddy, thanks to Paddy's help. After Paddy testified at the preliminary hearing the public defender and the ADA stuck a deal that sent the shooter to jail for several years. Paddy was quite pleased with his role in the whole affair; it made him happy to know that he had been instrumental in putting one more bad guy behind bars.

* * *

Thanks to Paddy, Joss was also able to learn more about John's tour of duty as a Ranger before he went into Black Ops and the CIA. John had always been uncomfortable talking about his past, mentally he had boxed up his pre-CIA life and packed it away, or so he thought. But Joss had been around veterans enough to know that technique didn't work nearly as well as the ex-soldier hoped it would. She had tried to question John about it, but he long ago decided that kneecapping was better therapy than talking. He would rarely discuss it with her.

One night, John was out working on a number and Joss was alone with Paddy. They both adored Pad Thai and Joss would bring some by whenever she would have free time in the evening. They would pass a companionable few hours watching a game or a movie together while they ate.

This night, however, Paddy was restless and moody. He fidgeted a lot and grumbled that the favor of his Pad Thai was off, despite the fact that it tasted just the same it always had to Joss.

Finally Joss put her plate down and turned to Paddy with her Mom Face on, "Ok Pad, what's up? You're fussing like a 2 year old."

Paddy looked sheepish, "I'm sorry babe. I just had a bad dream when I took my nap earlier and it dredged up some memories I was hoping to not have to think about again."

Joss reached over and patted his hand, "You know, I do understand. You wanna talk about it?"

Paddy sighed, "No not really, but I guess I should tell you. Did John ever tell you about the time he had to shoot a female suicide bomber?"

Joss shook her head, "No, John doesn't like to talk about the war. He hasn't told me much."

Paddy leaned his head back against the back of the couch where he was sitting with Joss. Joss could see that his eyes were tearing up and he rapidly blinked them back. "That's not good for him," he said softly.

"Tell me about it, but he's immune to all my interrogation techniques."

Paddy smiled a bit, "Yeah, I'll bet he is. He didn't like to talk about himself even back then."

"Tell me the story, Paddy. I need to know."

Paddy nodded, "We were working a checkpoint on some road; I don't even remember which one it was there were so many. They all tend to run together after a while. I never could get the hang of the Iraqi language, so I could never remember names.

"Anyway, John spotted something suspicious, something he thought might be an IED, so he and I went over to check it out. Turned out to be nothing.

"Thinking we were all good, we started walking back to the rest of the unit when we saw this woman running towards the checkpoint screaming something in her language which none of us spoke very well. We had no idea what she was saying or why she was running. No clue.

"The guys we had left behind at the checkpoint were all pretty inexperienced. I think John was the only one of us with actual combat experience at that point. It was pretty obvious that those poor kids didn't know what to do. We all knew that we should shoot her if she didn't stop, but heck, none of us wanted to shoot a woman and have it turn out to be nothing."

Paddy paused and took a swig of his beer; his eyes were focused far away. Joss knew he was back in Iraq and she waited patiently for him to go on.

Paddy began idly picking at the label on his bottle of beer while he talked. "The guys at the checkpoint were screaming at her to halt but she of course ignored them, just kept running and screaming. It seemed like forever, but it must have only been a couple of seconds. "

Paddy looked up Joss, "I'm assuming you know what a great shot John is?"

Joss nodded, "Yeah, I've seen him in action plenty of times."

Paddy nodded, his eyes were back to being far away, "He knew those kids at the checkpoint were not going to shoot her, so he did. He took her down with one shot, in the back. She just stopped screaming and yelling and fell forward into the dust."

Paddy rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and took another swig of his beer.

"Some of the locals saw what happened, but we couldn't let them approach the body until the bomb squad cleared it. We didn't know if she had any explosives on her or not.

"It took the bomb squad a while to get to there and by the time they did get there her mother was there, screaming her head off at us, trying to run to her daughter, but of course we had to hold her back. She spat on us for that. The commotion attracted a big crowd and we had to call in reinforcements to handle them all. I swear half of them were her relatives.

"Everyone was yelling and screaming. We were so scared and confused, Joss. For a few minutes I thought we were going to have to shoot more people in self-defense. It was damn near a riot, but John stayed calm, so we stayed calm. If he hadn't been there, it would have got ugly.

"The bomb squad finally got there and discovered that she was wearing a bomb vest with enough explosives to have blown the whole checkpoint to kingdom come. John had saved a lot of people by shooting her, not just our guys but a lot of Iraqis that were at that checkpoint too.

"Then we finally saw her face for the first time. I swear Joss, she was no older than your boy, she was just a kid, a baby! I thought John was going to throw up. I know I sure wanted to. He was depressed for long time after that.

"But John did what needed to be done when no one else would." Paddy concluded his story with a big swig of beer.

Joss squeezed Paddy's hand, "He always does, Paddy, he _always_ does."

* * *

Later that night, around one AM, John finally slid into bed next to Joss. Joss promptly turned over and snuggled up to him.

"Joss wait, I'm really cold. Give me few minutes to warm up. I don't want to make you cold too," he protested.

Joss defiantly threw a leg over his and partially covered his body with hers, "I don't mind warming you up, don't worry."

"Joss…"

Joss reached up and kissed him. "Shut up and go to sleep John," she told him firmly.

John did as he was told, holding her tightly.

* * *

At John's urging, Paddy finally called his family. Paddy stubbornly resisted for some time. He was afraid after all the terrible things he had said and done during his downward spiral, they would reject him.

"John, please, don't make me do this. It's best if they just forget all about me. I hurt them so bad," Paddy begged as tears of shame rolled down his face.

But John would not be deterred, "Paddy, you're not that man anymore. Everyone deserves a second chance, believe me, I know."

Paddy finally broke down and called. To his surprise, his mother was hysterical with joy at hearing from her son. She had been so convinced that he had already died on the streets as an addict. She was at the apartment the next day for a tearful reunion.

After that first tentative meeting, Paddy was actually quite proud to invite his family over to his fancy apartment and his mother and his sister became regular visitors. He and his mother fixed several family dinners together in the cozy kitchen before he grew too sick to do it anymore.

* * *

One night towards the end of Paddy's life, Joss decided to swing by Paddy's apartment to have dinner with him and John. John had wrapped up his case early in the day and he had texted her that he was going over to Paddy's to watch the game.

Joss walked into the apartment where she was greeted by the nurse. "How's our boy doing tonight?" Joss asked.

The nurse shook her head, "He's having a down day today. I'm glad you and Mr. Reese were able to come over. I doubt he has much time left. They're in the bedroom. He didn't feel up to getting out of bed today."

Joss entered the bedroom to see Paddy lying in bed while John sat in the chair next to him as they watched the game. Joss was stunned to see how bad Paddy looked, the nurse was right; he had very little time left.

"Who's winning?" she asked as cheerfully she could manage.

Paddy looked over at her and gave her weak smile, "The good guys of course!"

Reese stood up, "Sit here, honey. I need to get dinner started."

"Do you need any help?" she asked.

"Nope. Stay here and talk to Paddy; I think he's tired of me."

"You got that right! I want to talk to the pretty girl for a change." Paddy said weakly from the bed.

John smiled at his friend, gave Joss a quick kiss and left the room. Paddy watched him go with a sad expression.

"He's changed, Joss," Paddy whispered. "What happened to him?"

Joss took a minute to think about how she should answer that question as she settled into the chair John had just vacated. She finally answered, "They tried to break him; to make him evil. They came close."

"He wasn't cut out to be evil," Paddy whispered.

"No, he wasn't," Joss agreed with tears in her eyes.

Paddy closed his eyes and for a moment Joss thought he fallen asleep. After a few minutes he opened his eyes again. "Please take good care of him."

Joss squeezed Paddy's hand, "I will, I promise."

"He loves you a lot."

"I love him alot too."

They sat in companionable silence with Joss holding Paddy's hand until John had dinner ready.

* * *

The doctors at the VA had given Paddy six months; thanks the excellent care he received, he lasted nine. He died comfortably and peacefully in the apartment with John and his family sitting right next to him.

One of Paddy's last wishes was to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Finch filled out the paperwork and made sure it went through.

And so a couple of weeks after Paddy passed away, Reese, Carter and Finch were standing graveside with Paddy's family as Paddy was buried with full military honors in section 60* of Arlington. Paddy's mother accepted the flag stoically, but cried during _Taps_. Joss nearly joined her. Reese's eyes were pools of deep sorrow, not just for Paddy, but for everyone he had lost. He kept a tight grip on Joss's hand throughout the funeral but Joss didn't mind; she needed the comfort of his grip as much as he needed her.

After the service, they had said goodbye to Paddy's family and Harold turned to Reese and Carter, "I'll wait in the car if you want to visit some of the graves of some of your comrades in arms."

Joss hesitated, glancing at the long rows of headstones laid out before them, "Mary is buried here, but I don't know exactly where."

Finch produced a neatly typed list of names and plot numbers. "I took the liberty of making a short list of the people in each of your units who are currently interred here. Please take your time."

Joss could have kissed Finch for his foresight. Reese, however seemed less sure. He hesitantly took the paper and looked down at it sadly. Joss watched him for a few seconds and then gently tugged on the hand she still held from Paddy's funeral. They needed to do this. John needed to do this. She coaxed him towards the first grave listed on the paper.

"George Coulson, came into the unit same time as Paddy. Two months later, a sniper got him. He wasn't even old enough to drink. He was engaged to his highschool sweetheart. I wanted to write his fiancée, but I could never find the right words to tell her how sorry I was." Joss looked up at John's face and saw the tears forming in his eyes, "He was _my_ responsibility. He died on _my_ watch."

Joss rested her head against his arm, "You can't save them all John. That's something we both have to accept."

John didn't respond, he just bowed his head and held her hand so tightly Joss thought she might lose her fingers.

Then they came to Mary's grave**. Joss stood quietly looking down at the grave marker. John already knew the story; how Mary was her best friend in the service, how she died in an attack on the base that also wounded Joss and how Joss had had to listen to Mary die, calling for her. John stood behind Joss with his arms wrapped protectively around her waist, holding her against him, supporting her really, while the tears ran down her face.

Finally Joss knelt down and kissed the top of the marker. "Miss you, girl," she said softly as her fingers traced Mary's name carved into the stone. John held out his hand and helped her to her feet. Then he gently led her away.

While Finch waited patiently in the car, John and Joss wandered around section 60, saying goodbye to too many lost friends. Besides Paddy, John had five friends buried there and Joss had two. They visited each grave and told stories about the deceased and cried together. In the distance, another funeral began and they heard the mournful notes of _Taps _once again.

When they were done visiting the graves of their comrades, they walked slowly back to the car where Finch was waiting, holding hands and leaning on each other. They climbed in the big black luxury car and Finch started it up without a word. The car slowly glided out of the gates of the cemetery and turned for home.

**The End**

* * *

*Arlington is divided into 70 sections. Almost all of the casualties from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are buried in section 60.

**Joss told John about her friendship with Mary in my previous story, Get Carter Again.


End file.
